The Yankees lost to the Rays 5-4 and lost another series. They haven’t won a series in a month and haven’t won back-to-back games in that time either.
Here are 10 thoughts on the Yankees.
1. “Spirited comeback.” That’s what Michael Kay labeled the Yankees’ ninth-inning rally that came up short. A “spirited comeback.”
The bottom of the ninth inning in Games 4 and 5 of the 2001 were spirited comebacks. The eighth inning of Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS was a spirited comeback (and also the reason the Yankees are currently managed by the manager they are). What happened on Thursday night at Tropicana Field was just a collapsing team coming up short yet again and losing for the 18th time in 25 games.
2. The Yankees wouldn’t have needed to have a comeback of any sort if they could just situationally hit. Alex Verdugo singled to lead off the game and Juan Soto followed with a double. The Yankees had runners on second and third with no outs and Aaron Judge due up.
Shane Baz was making his second start of the season and his second start since 2022 due to injury. The Yankees had him on the ropes with a chance to win the game in the first inning. Instead, Judge hit a shallow fly ball, Ben Rice struck out on three pitches and Gleyber Torres struck out on four.
2. Two batters into the Rays’ offensive night they had a 2-0 lead. Yandy Diaz doubled off the catwalk and Randy Arozarena clubbed a two-home run. Nestor Cortes was doing his can’t-pitch-on-the-road act yet again in an attempt to mimic Carlos Rodon’s start two nights before.
“I haven’t had success on the road this year,” Cortes said, “but I don’t think much of it when I’m out there.”
What exactly is he thinking about when he’s on a non-Yankee Stadium mound? How quickly can I put this game out of reach?
3. Cortes needed 97 pitches to get 13 outs and allowed five earned runs and 10 baserunners in just 4 1/3 innings of work. It was an abysmal start, but his manager didn’t think so.
“Stuff-wise he was good,” Aaron Boone said.
How could anyone have good stuff and give up five runs and 10 baserunners and only last 4 1/3 innings? You know who had good stuff on Thursday? Paul Skenes. He threw seven no-hit innings for the Pirates with 11 strikeouts. That’s good stuff.
4. Thankfully, Jeff Nelson on the postgame show didn’t sit by and listen to his former teammate in Boone spew bullshit.
“You’re throwing 97 pitches in 4 1/3 innings,” Nelson said. “I don’t know how you have ‘good stuff.'”
5. Boone then went on to talk about how the team is “in control” despite losing yet another series and losing the opportunity to win back-to-back games for the first time in exactly a month from today. (Happy One-Month Anniversary!)
“Missing opportunities, that’s what I think it comes down to,” Aaron Judge said. “There was a lot of fight out of the guys all the way to the end.”
No one fights and loses like the Yankees!
6. “We’re the Yankees,” Jose Trevino said. “If we win, [it’s], yeah, we should have won. If we lose, they like that.”
Does Trevino think it’s 15 years ago when being the Yankees meant something? When the Yankees were the Yankees, acted like it, played like it and won like it. That was a long time ago. I don’t think anyone still thinks the Yankees should win because they’re the Yankees. They have played worse than the White Sox and Rockies for the last month. They are coming off a season in which they missed the playoffs when 40 percent of the league makes the playoffs. They haven’t reached or won the World Series in 15 years and have lost five ALCS in that time.
7. “Nobody likes losing,” Judge said. “Nobody is happy about it.”
The Yankees may not like losing, but they’re accepting of it. They’re comfortable doing it, and they’re pretty good at it.
8. The Yankees are a three-home run game from Rice against the Red Sox and Grisham driving in both runs and making a game-saving catch against the Rays from being in the middle of a nine-game losing streak. That’s scary, but what’s even scarier is for how bad things are, they are set up to get a lot worse over the next three days in Baltimore.
9. The Orioles were just swept at home by the crappy Cubs. Not only were they swept, but they were outscored 21-2 and shut out on Wednesday and Thursday. It’s very realistic they break out and hang 30 runs on the Yankees this weekend.
The Yankees need to sweep the Orioles to have a winning road trip. Rodon is starting on Sunday, so that’s a loss, and the dream of a sweep is gone. They need to win two of three to at worst run in place and go .500 on this trip. I can’t envision a scenario in which the Yankees take two of three from the Orioles in Baltimore, but they need to.
10. “We’re going to play a first-place team right now,” Judge said. “We’ve got to take these good at-bats into Baltimore.”
They’re going to need to bring a lot more than good at-bats to Baltimore. They’re going to need to bring actual runs, quality starting pitching, bat-missing relief pitching, strong defense and a capable manager. Otherwise, the division will be over before the All-Star break and what was once a promising season will be closer to being over as well.
Last modified: Jul 12, 2024
